No. 15 Utah Volleyball Hits the Road to Take on Ranked Washington Schools
University of Utah Outside Hitter Dani Drews (1) goes for the kill in an NCAA Volleyball match vs. The Washington Huskies at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019. (Photo by Abu Asib | The Daily Utah Chronicle)
November 13, 2019
The No. 15 University of Utah volleyball team will head to Washington to take on No. 22 Washington State (21-5, 10-4 Pac-12) and No. 13 Washington (19-5, 10-4 Pac-12 ). The Utes are currently 18-7, 10-4 Pac-12.
Last weekend, the Utes made program history when they beat USC and UCLA for the second time this season. It’s the first time Utah has beat both teams on the road and went 4-0 against the big Southern California schools. Zoe Weatherington was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, as she hit .300 and tabbed 28 total kills on the weekend. This is the first time she has received this honor.
When the Utes faced the Cougars last month, they played a hard battled five set match and lost 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 26-24, 26-28, 14-16). This match was a point for point, very competitive night of volleyball. Dani Drews had a spectacular night, matching the program record with 31 kills. Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres had 67 assists, which was the second most in program history. Kenzie Koerber tabbed 18 kills and Weatherington had 14. Last weekend, the Cougars took on Oregon and Oregon State, where they beat both teams in four sets. The Cougars have lost to UCLA and ASU, which are two teams the Utes have beat. The Cougars will take on the Buffs at home on Sunday.
Right now four teams are tied for second place in the Pac-12 — Cal, Washington State, Washington and Utah. The matches this weekend are incredibly important for all three teams playing to determine who takes the lead in the Conference. USC and UCLA are tied for third with a 8-6 Pac-12 record.
Earlier this season, the Utes went four sets with Huskies and were able to pull off the upset 3-1 (19-25, 25-13, 25-17, 25-10). Can they do it again? Utah hit .414 on the match and even hit a huge .591 while clinching the fourth and final set to take the match. Drews had 20 kills, Koerber tabbed 14 and Weatherington wasn’t far behind with 12. The Huskies took on the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers last weekend, beating both teams. Washington has lost to USC twice this season, which was a team the Utes were able to beat on both occasions. Washington will take on Colorado on Friday before the Utes on Sunday.
The Utes will head to Pullman first on Friday night for the match against the Cougars at 7 p.m. in Bohler Gym. Then on Sunday, they’ll be in Seattle to take on the Huskies at 2 p.m. in the Alaska Airlines arena. The first match will be aired on the Pac-12 networks and the second on Washington’s live stream.
